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Asia-Pacific

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Climate · Asia-Pacific

Typhoon Champi kills one and injures more than 500 in Taiwan as it heads to China

Super typhoon weakening but large parts of Taiwan, including Taipei, still mostly closed and flights cancelled Typhoon Champi swept past Taiwan on Saturday killing one person, injuring more than 500, and uprooting trees and severing power as it weakened and ⁠headed north toward ⁠the ​Chinese coast. Earlier classified as a super typhoon and one of the strongest storms in the ⁠Pacific this year, Champi was still…

The Guardian ·

Climate · Asia-Pacific

Thunderstorms, heavy rain and flash flooding predicted for much of Australia

Parts of Queensland, Victoria and South Australia can expect severe storms on Saturday, moving into NSW and Tasmania by Sunday Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain will sweep across most Australian states this weekend, adding to the deluge in an already drenched Queensland. Flash flooding in south-east Queensland this week prompted hundreds of SES…

The Guardian ·

Climate · Asia-Pacific

Complex issues: how to get your apartment block off gas – before it’s too late

Electrifying your block of flats could cut emissions and save money. Don’t wait to plan the change Change by degrees offers life hacks and sustainable living tips each Saturday to help reduce your household’s carbon footprint Got a question or tip for reducing household emissions? Email us at changebydegrees@theguardian.com Around Australia, homes are getting off gas. Gas cooktops are being swapped for induction…

The Guardian ·

World · Asia-Pacific

Why do women in public life become targets?

A brutal targeted attack on an Australian female MP, who lost both her legs as a result, has reignited concerns over the rising levels of violence against women in public life. Also Cornell University is facing a no-confidence vote over its handling of an alleged gang rape in 2024. Annette Young speaks to Annie E. Clark, a survivor of campus sexual assault and Dr Sara Wilf of George Mason University about why…

France 24 ·

Entertainment · Asia-Pacific

Ryu Murakami, cult Japanese author, dies aged 74

The bestselling writer, known as Japan’s enfant terrible, explored the dark underbelly of Japanese society in more than 40 works of subversive fiction including Audition, later made into a landmark indie horror movie Ryu Murakami, the cult Japanese author and film-maker whose subversive, blackly comic novels found millions of readers, has died aged 74. He died on 17 October at home, according to his Japanese…

The Guardian ·

Science · Asia-Pacific

One of Earth’s most powerful supervolcanoes is refilling with fresh magma

Deep beneath Japan’s Kikai caldera, a massive magma reservoir is refilling 7,300 years after one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in Earth's recent geological history. Scientists used underwater seismic surveys to reveal a vast store of magma that appears to have accumulated since the ancient catastrophe. The discovery could help explain how supervolcanoes like Yellowstone and Toba rebuild their magma…

ScienceDaily ·

Culture · Asia-Pacific

The Snowman gets a hi-tech rebuild – with help from Raging Bull and a ‘Hot Santa’

More than 30 years after Raymond Briggs’ story became a stage show, director Will Tuckett and Paddington designer Tahra Zafar have refreshed it and added a hunky Saint Nick “Top of the show!” says Will Tuckett. On the grand piano, musical director Andy Massey strikes up an arpeggio that could melt the most frozen of hearts: “We’re walking in the air …” It is The Snowman, of course. Raymond Briggs’ 1978 picture…

The Guardian ·

Science · Asia-Pacific

BBC Inside Science

A Japanese spacecraft could become the first ever to bring Martian samples back to Earth.

BBC News ·

Business · Asia-Pacific

Can Germany revive its economy before the AfD gains ground?

Conflicts, rising costs and Chinese competition are testing Germany's economic model like never before. Can new growth sectors create jobs and ease voters' economic fears, thereby helping contain the far-right AfD?

Deutsche Welle ·

World · Asia-Pacific

North Korea prepares to restart propaganda loudspeakers as ties sour with South

Kim Yo-jong, sister of Kim Jong-un, issues warning after inspecting border fortifications against backdrop of rising tensions Propaganda loudspeakers aimed at South Korea will be ready to restart within days along the entire border, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, has said amid a worsening of ties between the two countries. The statement, carried by the state news agency KCNA…

The Guardian ·

World · Asia-Pacific

Taiwan charges five men over plot to run over comedian for his Xi Jinping jokes

Person named ‘K’ from China paid five defendants to injure Huang Yi-hao, New Taipei prosecutors say Taiwanese prosecutors have charged five men over a plot to ram a car into a comedian who made fun of the Chinese Communist party and Xi Jinping. Taiwan has repeatedly accused China of transnational repression to silence critics on the self-governed island, which Beijing claims as its territory and has vowed to take…

The Guardian ·

World · Asia-Pacific

Fate unknown of many returned to DPR Korea from China: UN independent experts

Three years on from the reported resumption of large-scale forcible returns of nationals of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) from China, serious concerns persist about their fate, according to a group of Human Rights Council-appointed independent experts.

United Nations ·